Lava Cake
by Taisi
Summary: "Way I see it," Raph muttered, eyes trained on the T.V. without seeing it at all, because he couldn't quite look Mikey in the face, "if Donnie's brainy and useful, Leo's practical and likable, and I'm hard-shell and gooey center- then this is you." (2K12, light Raph/Mikey, food references, meringue levels of fluff.)


"Avocados!" Mikey shrieked gleefully, practically jumping on Leo for a hug and nuzzling against his cheek. "Leo, this is awesome! You're awesome! Where did you find them?"

Raph scowled, folding his arms where he leaned against the wall. Trust Leo to get all the credit just for carrying the crate inside. His mood soured even more as Leo disentangled himself from Mikey's octopus arms and sent a brief, goading look Raph's way.

_He's totally making fun of me._

"They were throwing them away at the grocery store," Leo said, unaffected by the pointed glare Raph was trying to physically drill through the back of his head. "I heard the owner say they're a week old. Are they still good?"

"Oh, yeah, look- " Mikey scooted away to find a knife, and halved an avocado neatly around the big seed inside, taking it apart and showing Leo- and Raph and Donnie, who leaned in curiously- the soft flesh. "See how it's all light green there on the inside? And the outside is still a good color, too- and firm, it barely gives under my fingers at all. I can't believe he was just throwing all these away!"

"Have we had avocados before?" Raph asked slowly, looking at the fruits like they'd bite. Mikey grinned at him, totally in his element.

"There were avocados in that guacamole dip April's aunt made that one time, remember? I always wanted to try making it, too, but it takes like, onions, tomatoes, garlic and maybe cilantro, plus like three whole avocados just to make two measely cups!" He rocked back on his heels, still smiling as he turned the half of an avocado over in his hands. "It's cheaper just to buy stuff like that in a tub."

Before Raph's chest had the chance to start aching at such a casual dismissal- the smile-shrug-whatever because Mikey never asked for anything more than pizza and playtime- Mikey was pointing the fruit at Donnie with a sideways smile and the conversation spun on.

"If you were a food, you would totally be an avocado."

"Me?" Donatello blinked, and then smiled. "Well, I _have _read that they're a powerful brain food."

"Yeaaah, and they're crazy useful in like a hundred different recipes! There's nothing you can't do with an avocado." Donnie's smile brightened, face flushing a little at the implication, and Raph watched Mikey haul his fruits to the fridge and shove stuff around to make room.

Leo leaned his elbows on the table, looking amused. "What fruit would I be?"

Mikey giggled as he dumped as many of the avocados as he could fit into the produce drawer. "You wouldn't be a fruit, you'd be _dango!"_

Raph raised an eyebrow, and Donnie canted a confused look Leo's way. "_Dango?"_

"Yeah, you know that one saying, _'hana yori dango'?" _Mikey glanced up, and looked delighted to see Leo chuckling. "Plus they can be savory or candy sweet, and they're a crowd favorite all year round." He winked, and Leo dropped his chin in his hand, smiling fondly.

Raph was almost surprised the table didn't catch fire with the force of his scowl that time. And to make matters worse, Leo actually started smothering laughter behind his hand, like Raph was a hilarious performing monkey and money couldn't _buy _this kind of entertainment.

_Just wait until training tomorrow, Leo, I'm gonna kick your- _

"Okay," Leo said smoothly, outright grinning now and to all outward appearances completely oblivious to the rage resonating from Raphael's spot by the table, "what about Raph?"

Mikey shut the fridge door armed with a carton of eggs and turned, a devious grin on his face that told them all _this _was the question he'd been waiting for. Under the full force of _that look_, Raph had to work to keep color out of his face.

"That's easy!" Mikey set the eggs down, pointed with absolute certainty at the red-masked turtle and said, with a wide, beaming smile, "Raph's a lava cake!"

There was a moment of silence; and then Donnie actually angled his body away, shoulders shaking with what looked suspiciously like silent laughter, and Leo buried his face in the tabletop. Raph just stood there, blinking at Mikey, who just stood there, grinning back.

"Uh... Why?"

"Heh." Mikey planted his hands at his hips, grin pulling into a smirk that should _not _have made Raph want to kiss him. "Really wanna know?"

Maybe because he sounded so teasing, maybe because his other brothers were laughing themselves silly, but either way Raphael found himself scowling, folding his arms, and biting out, "Try me."

Mikey nodded, super seriously, and set about pulling dishes from the cabinet to make lunch. His eyes dropped to focus on the task at hand, the smile on his face warm and honeyed.

"Lava cakes- _so _yummy. They're really rich and really sweet. They've got like this outer shell that can be sorta hard and bitter sometimes, but the inside is gooey and warm." Wide blue eyes flicked up to meet Raph's for a split second that felt daring,right there under Donnie and Leo's noses, and Raph just stood there gaping like a particularly stupid fish. Then Mikey was giggling to himself, eyes darting down again, and that moment was gone. "And that's you to a T, Raphie! All hard shell and molten center and sweet all over, even though you try to be a jerk."

He hummed, breaking eggs into a ceramic bowl while Raph just _stood _there, and somewhere in the background Leo was smiling like the cat that caught the canary as he nudged Donnie out of the kitchen. Stupid Leo, too smart for his own good.

After a few seconds had gone by and they were alone, Mikey looked up again. His smile this time was shy and sweet, and he leaned forward over the tabletop like he had a grand secret to share.

"Lava cakes are my favorite."

And with that, Raph was in motion; swinging around the table and grabbing for Mikey like his life actually seriously depended on holding him, right then and there.

"Played me like a trombone," he muttered, and felt something like pure, melting delight behind his breastbone when Mikey reached up in turn to wind his arms around Raphael's neck and laugh.

It was a few days later, after a two-man search of almost every street in Flushing, that Casey found the stall selling exactly what Raphael was looking for, right on the edge of Chinatown.

And when he got home, he dropped the paper bag in Mikey's lap unceremoniously before he jumped down into the pit to sit beside him. Mikey's blue eyes were bright and wide as he pulled the bag open to peer inside.

"Raph?" Mikey blinked at him, then down at the plastic container he'd withdrawn onto his lap, looking thoroughly confused. "It's _konpeito. _You got me _konpeito?"_

"Way I see it," he muttered, eyes trained on the T.V. without seeing it at all, because he couldn't quite look Mikey in the face, "if Donnie's brainy and useful, Leo's practical and likeable, and I'm hard-shell and gooey center- then this is you."

Mikey peeled the lid off with more care than he usually gave most things, looking with wonder at the rainbow array of confetti shaped candies.

"But these are just sugar," he said, slowly. "Just color and sugar."

Raph put an arm around him and yanked him close; and when Mikey was giggling, sweet as candy in Raph's ear, Raph felt every bit like the gooey, drippy molten chocolate center Mikey claimed him to be.

"Darn right."


End file.
